Chapter 577 Snowy Night
Snowflakes were falling heavily over the palace, but the Mingjing Hall remained brightly lit during the day. Lin Changning knelt by the bed, holding Li Mingshu's cold hands tightly.
The Emperor and Empress stood to one side, while Qi Rong and Li Mingxiu stood beside Lin Changning, their worried gazes fixed on the person on the bed.
The imperial physician, who had just treated someone, sighed and shook his head: "Your Majesty, the Eldest Princess... I'm afraid she's not well..."
Upon hearing this, the Empress felt a dizzying sensation before her eyes, her body went limp, and she was about to fall forward when the Emperor swiftly stopped her. His face darkened as he looked at the imperial physician: "What do you mean by that? What do you mean by 'not good'? Didn't you say she was perfectly fine when you took her pulse a few days ago?"
Seeing the emperor's grim expression, the imperial physician bowed, sighed, and said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, the princess's body is like a sieve; the poison has long since seeped into her bone marrow, making it incurable. She has only managed to recover somewhat in the capital, which at most extends her life by four or five years. She seemed slightly better a few days ago, but her constitution is already extremely weak. The princess cannot afford any major emotional fluctuations. Today, her emotional turmoil has further depleted her energy, causing her to faint. I just took her pulse, and the princess... I fear she only has a month left. Even with medicine, it can only prolong her life for a few more months. With her blood and qi depleted, and her spirit weakened, no one can save her..."
Upon hearing this, the Empress buried her face in the Emperor's arms and wept bitterly, pounding her fists against his chest: "Your Majesty, please let them save Shu'er! Our daughter has suffered so much, how could... how could it be beyond saving? Your Majesty!"
The emperor patted the empress on the back to comfort her, then looked at the imperial physician with an increasingly grim expression: "Is there absolutely no chance? Is there anyone else who can cure her?"
This man was the emperor's personal physician, and his medical skills were among the best in the Imperial Medical Academy. After seeing the emperor's gaze, he shook his head again and sighed, "It doesn't matter who comes. This poison has been around for too long, and the princess's health has already been ruined. Even a miracle worker couldn't save her."
Qi Rong's face also darkened. Li Mingxiu, enraged, grabbed the imperial physician by the collar: "Incompetent doctor!! How could Shu'er possibly be... how could she!!!"
He was about to throw a punch when Qi Rong quickly grabbed him.
"Mingxiu!" After the emperor shouted angrily, Li Mingxiu suddenly let go, but his eyes were a little red, and he clenched his fists tightly as he turned his back.
The room was quiet for a moment, except for the Queen's sobs.
After the emperor sent the empress back, he waved for the imperial physician to leave.
Looking up, Qi Rong noticed that Lin Changning hadn't spoken. Following the emperor's gaze, he saw Lin Changning kneeling quietly by the bed, her once straight back, like a bamboo shoot, now slumped over.
From the side, Qi Rong could only see large tears streaming down Lin Changning's cheeks, her eyes slightly red, and the tears wetting a patch of the bedding.
Lin Changning remained silent, sitting quietly beside Li Mingshu. The emperor sighed and fell silent. Li Mingxiu looked at Lin Changning by the bedside, wanting to offer some words of comfort, but after opening his mouth, he didn't know what to say.
An overwhelming sadness filled the room. Qi Rong sighed softly, stood behind Lin Changning, patted him on the shoulder, and said nothing.
Since he met Xiao Liu, he had never seen Xiao Liu cry like this before. She just shed tears quietly without making a sound, but he could feel that Xiao Liu was about to break apart.
It should be noted that Lin Changning never shed a single tear, no matter how badly he was wounded on the battlefield.
He was shocked to learn today that Xiao Liu was a girl, but then he found the whole thing absurd. At first, he was anxious and worried that His Majesty would punish Xiao Liu. But after learning that she was alright, he felt a bit angry. He didn't know whether he was angry that Lin Changning was dressed as a man or that Changning had married his sister and that the two of them had kept it from him until now.
But looking at Lin Changning kneeling by the bed, Qi Rong felt that none of that mattered anymore. At least, Xiao Liu's feelings for them were genuine, and what did that have to do with gender?
Lin Changning quietly stayed by the bedside, feeding Li Mingshu medicine and food whenever she woke up. This went on for six or seven days, day after day, until he became noticeably haggard.
The emperor and empress were initially somewhat annoyed with Lin Changning, but after seeing how Lin Changning stayed by their daughter's side when she was seriously ill, they felt that gender was not so important.
The Empress sighed as she watched Lin Changning quietly finish feeding Li Mingshu her medicine. She stepped forward and patted Lin Changning's arm, saying, "You haven't slept for almost three or four days. Get some sleep. Your mother is here."
Regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl, at least the child's feelings for Mingshu are genuine. She and the emperor have been here for so many days, watching over their daughter every day. They are not blind; they can see that the two children have a very good relationship.
Lin Changning shook his head, his voice hoarse as he spoke: "I'm not tiring Mother. I'm staying with Ashu. I'm afraid Ashu will be scared if she wakes up and doesn't see me."
Yesterday, she went to the toilet and was gone for less than half an incense stick's time. When Li Mingshu woke up and didn't see her, she wondered what had happened to her father and mother and got up to go find Lin Changning.
Weakened and disturbed, she was in a daze for most of the night, clinging to Lin Changning's sleeve and refusing to fall asleep.
She was terrified that if she fell asleep, something would happen to Lin Changning.
Lin Changning heard that Li Mingshu had a nightmare in which she dreamt that she was dead. She couldn't sleep well at night and had barely left her room for the past few days, afraid that if she went out for a while, Li Mingshu would overthink things again.
The Empress frowned: "Why are you so stubborn, child? If Ashu wakes up like this, won't she be worried?"
As soon as the Empress finished speaking, a palace maid stood beside her and whispered an explanation.
After hearing this, the Empress's gaze softened with a hint of helplessness as she looked at Lin Changning.
Looking at Lin Changning who was guarding her daughter, she sighed, waved her hand and had someone bring a soft chair. After placing it by the bed, she said to Lin Changning, "Alright, Xiao Liu, if you're tired, there's a soft chair here. Lie down and rest for a while."
Lin Changning turned around, her eyes filled with gratitude: "Thank you, Mother."
The Empress stayed with Lin Changning for most of the day, and only returned to her own palace in the evening after watching Li Mingshu drink the medicine.
Yue'er was also sent to the palace. Recently, she has been taking care of her, bringing her to keep Li Mingshu company during the day and entrusting her to the Empress's care in the evening.
Lin's mother was also worried about Li Mingshu's health, so she followed her into the palace. Looking at the two children, her eyes were full of heartache.
The snow outside the window fell slowly, and the eaves were covered with soft snow, turning into a large expanse of white jade. The beasts on the eaves held snowflakes that shimmered in the light in their mouths, and the vermilion walls were submerged in a vast expanse of white.
After feeding Li Mingshu the medicine, Lin Changning turned and left the room, closing the door behind her. Snowflakes fell on Lin Changning's eyelashes, quickly turning into tiny water droplets from the steam.
A man quietly crept over from one direction under the corridor and bowed to Lin Changning: "My lord, we've found out."
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